Wexford May Bush traditions feature on new RTÉ series

Wexford faces and voices featured in the third episode of the RTÉ series Na Féilte Tine over the May bank holiday weekend. The four-part series Na Féilte Tine (The Fire Festivals) and it explores the four indigenous Irish festivals of Samhain, Imbolg, Bealtaine and Lúnasa in Ireland.
One of Ireland's leading folklorists, Wexford's Michael Fortune, features in the series and he brought the RTÉ cameras to his native county in a bid to get our particular traditions and customs recognised. Michael was recorded in the TG4 studios in Connemara in early 2023 and a few months later, on May Eve (April 30), he brought the film crew to Wexford to record Marie Coleman from Curragraigue, Ballindaggin and Willie Phayers of Ballyigeen, Boolavogue and also record the decoration of the village May Bush in Ballindaggin.
Marie Coleman, a neighbour of Michael's, kept the tradition of the May Bush going in her family farm over her lifetime and the crew spent hours recording herself and her grandchildren and neighbours dressing up the May Bush in her yard. Sadly Marie passed in August, just a few months after this was filmed and the programme producer, Ciaran O'Cofaigh, dedicated this episode to her in the credits.
Also featured in the episode was a man called Willie Phayers from Ballyigeen from outside Ferns. Michael introduced the producers to Willie where he spoke about the practice of blessing cattle on May Eve with Easter water. The highlight of the piece was seeing the village May Bush in Ballindaggin being decorated and dressed by the local community.
Michael and his wife, Aileen Lambert, re-established the May Bush tradition back into the village in 2017 and every year it has grown in popularity with the community. The film crew did the event justice as it captured gorgeous footage of the May procession featuring St Colman's Pipe Band and St Kevin's Marching Band, the May Queens and King from Ballindaggin National School, and people coming together, decorating the May Bush and marking the coming of Summer. The programme also featured a May song written by Aileen called Good Morrow Fair Yarrow which was the perfect backdrop to the faces and voices of Wexford in the episode.

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Irish Independent

2 hours ago

• Irish Independent

How does Dublin's new AI city guide compare to a real walking tour? We tried them both out

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The city that spawned business names such as 'Knobs and Knockers' and 'Angela's Rashers' deserves a far more engaging voice to bring it to life. So, I decided to pit Brendan against the ultimate foe: a Dublin walking tour with the renowned Pat Liddy's tour company. After brief introductions, myself and two American tourists, Deirdre Pleasure and Rebecca Nolan, set off with our guide Harry Pender, another twenty-something Dubliner, albeit a non-electronic one. We started out at Barnardo Square on Dame Street, and immediately I was drawn in by Mr Pender's personality as he answered questions, and even managed to summarise Irish history in a lively 15-minute back and forth – not an easy task. We then made our way down to Dublin Castle, where we learnt the origin of the word boycott, chatted about the lies embedded in Irish history (St Patrick was neither a saint or named Patrick) and joked about suncream. We were having such a raucous time, one of the other tours asked us to move along. 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I can imagine a scenario where Brendan is all you need to get a quick overview of the city, if you're tight on time or just curious about one specific spot (and you haven't heard of Google). If you can get past the stilted Dublin dialogue and misaligned teeth, there's a reasonably interesting proposition here. For no money at all, you can see Dublin in a way quite unlike any other, so try it out and see what you think. After all, sometimes even adults enjoy Fisher-Price toys.

The Journal

5 hours ago

• The Journal

Quiz: How well do you know the support acts of Slane's biggest concerts?

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Sunday World

6 hours ago

• Sunday World

Lucy Kennedy set to hosted by Caitlyn Jenner in new TV series

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